This invention relates generally to stoppers which seal the opening of a container. More particularly, the present invention relates to bottle stoppers which seal the neck of a bottle and include means for drawing and maintaining a vacuum within the bottle.
Bottles are commonly used to store liquid beverages. The quality of many such liquids is subject to deterioration after the permanent bottle seal, required for transport and storage, is removed and only part of the contents are consumed. The liquid then comes into contact with the air after opening of the container. An example of such liquid is wine. Oxygen present in the air contacting unconsumed wine in a wine bottle will oxidize the wine, resulting in off-flavors in the unconsumed wine. Similarly, the quality of non-carbonated soft drinks may deteriorate upon exposure to air due to oxidation or other means. Many devices and systems have been proposed to reduce or eliminate such deterioration.
In one such system, nitrogen or other relatively heavy and inert gases are introduced into the opened bottle to displace the air and blanket the surface of the liquid. Such systems require a source of the gas and means for introducing the gas into the bottle. Such systems may also require means for retaining the gas within the bottle and in some cases means for venting the displaced air from the bottle. These systems are therefore relatively complex and require an assured gas source.
In other systems, a pump device is used to remove at least a substantial portion of the air from the bottle, thereby drawing a vacuum within the bottle. A stopper is installed in the neck of the bottle to maintain the vacuum and prevent the ingress of air. Such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,803 and includes an integral stopper and valve assembly composed of an elastic material. The stopper shaft has an axial channel and the valve has an opening in the form of a slit which is located in the path of the channel. The valve can open outwards, allowing the slit to open, to permit the extraction of air from the container. The slit is held closed by the elastic properties of the material and/or by the pressure difference across the valve. Compressing ribs in the stopper opens the slit, allowing air to flow into the bottle and the stopper to be removed from the bottle for pouring. A pump comprising a cylinder, a piston disposed in the cylinder, and a mushroom valve is used to draw the vacuum in the bottle.
This system is relatively simple to use and inexpensive to manufacture. However, the seal formed between the edges of the valve slit is subject to several failure mechanisms. Such a slit is difficult to clean and may become fouled with liquid from the bottle, dust or the like. Repeated use of the stopper may result in degradation of the elastic properties which act to hold the slit closed. The pressure differential across the valve will ultimately lead to leakage during long-term storage of the unconsumed wine in the bottle. Should the seal fail and allow air to enter the bottle, such failure will remain undiscovered until an attempt is made to remove the stopper, allowing deterioration of the wine to progress undetected.
Briefly stated, the invention in a preferred form is a stopper for use in a bottle neck which includes as a novel feature not found in conventional stoppers a means for indicating the pressure within the bottle.
The stopper comprises a rigid valve actuator disposed in an outer body composed of a resilient material. The outer body includes a cylindrical sleeve portion and a lower flange portion which are inserted into the bottle neck, the outer surface of the sleeve portion forming an air-tight and fluid-tight seal with the bottle neck. The lower flange portion extends radially inward from the interior surface of the sleeve portion to an axial aperture having a sealing surface, partially closing the bore of the sleeve portion. The lower flange portion has a bottom biasing surface which is acted on by a vacuum in the bottle. The valve actuator includes an upper operator portion connected to a lower valve body portion by a longitudinally extending shaft portion. The valve body portion is sealingly engageable with the sealing surface of the orifice to close the orifice. The lower valve body portion and at least a part of the shaft portion are disposed within the bore of the outer body. The vacuum acts on the biasing surface of the lower flange portion to bias the lower flange portion and the valve actuator downward into the bottle neck in opposition to a resilience force of the lower flange portion such that an indicator on the shaft portion proximate to the operator portion is withdrawn within the bore of the outer body when the vacuum is greater than a predetermined value and the indicator is visible above the outer body when the vacuum is less than the predetermined value.
Another novel feature is the use of tapered, conical-shaped seating surfaces. The valve body portion of the valve actuator and the orifice in the lower flange portion of the outer body have complementary conical shapes, such that the seating surface of the orifice forms an airtight and fluid-tight seal with the valve body portion when the valve body portion is urged into the orifice. The tapered shape increases the frictional force between the seating surface and valve body portion, thereby providing improved resistance to air leakage into the bottle.
The outer body also includes an upper flange portion extending radially outward from the outer surface of the sleeve portion and having a lower edge which abuts a lip of the bottle neck when the stopper is installed. The upper flange portion of the outer body has an inner surface forming a circumferential groove.
The stopper also comprises a substantially rigid inner body including an upper flange portion having upper and lower segments. The lower segment is received in the circumferential groove of the upper flange portion of the outer body. The inner body also includes a longitudinally extending sleeve portion disposed intermediate the sleeve portion of the outer body and the shaft portion of the valve actuator. An axial opening extends longitudinally through the inner body. The diameter of the opening in the sleeve portion of the inner body is greater than the diameter of the opening in the upper flange portion of the inner body, such that the upper flange portion forms a downward facing shoulder.
A retainer segment on the shaft portion of the valve actuator disposed proximate to the valve body portion has an outside diameter which is greater than the diameter of the opening in the upper flange portion of the inner body. The length of the shaft portion of the valve actuator is selected to ensure that the valve body portion is fully withdrawn from orifice of the outer body before the retainer segment of the valve actuator engages the shoulder of the upper flange portion of the inner body. The outside diameter of the operator portion of the valve actuator is greater than the diameter of the opening in the upper flange portion of the inner body. The length of the shaft portion of the valve actuator is selected to ensure that valve body portion of the valve actuator is fully sealing engaged with the orifice of the outer body before the operator portion of the valve actuator engages the upper flange portion of the inner body.
A retainer segment on the shaft portion of the valve actuator disposed proximate to the valve body portion has an outside diameter which is greater than the diameter of the opening in the upper flange portion of the inner body. The length of the shaft portion of the valve actuator is selected to ensure that the valve body portion is fully withdrawn from orifice of the inner body before the retainer segment of the valve actuator engages the shoulder of the upper flange portion of the inner body. The outside diameter of the operator portion of the valve actuator is greater than the diameter of the opening in the upper flange portion of the inner body. The length of the shaft portion of the valve actuator is selected to ensure that valve body portion of the valve actuator is fully sealing engaged with the orifice of the outer body before the operator portion of the valve actuator engages the upper flange portion of the inner body.
The lower flange portion of the outer body protrudes upwardly into the opening of sleeve portion of the inner body when the valve body portion of the valve actuator is fully withdrawn from the orifice of the outer body. W hen the valve body portion of the valve actuator is fully sealing engaged with the orifice of the outer body, the valve body portion of the valve actuator biases the lower flange portion of the outer body downward out of the opening of the sleeve portion of the inner body.
It is an object of the invention to provide a new and improved stopper for use with a bottle.
It is also an object of the invention to provide a bottle stopper which provides a visual indication when a vacuum in the bottle is below a predetermined value.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the drawings and specification.